THE SPAWNING KACE. 61 



their habits and carnivorous in their tastes, as has 

 been ascertained by sad experience. Seventy thou- 

 sand salmon spawn destroyed in one season by 

 these minute pests, at Stormonfield, bear witness 

 to the truth of this statement. And even in the 

 eggs themselves lie a source of death. 



The dreaded byssus may appear, and there be- 

 ing no one present to remove the infected spawn, 

 the loss of the entire nest may ensue 



Having thus noticed the method of spawning 

 when the trout are in their natural state, we learn 

 by it the points necessary for the proper prepara- 

 tion of the spawning races, and the dangers which 

 surround the spawn after impregnation. The ob- 

 ject of the fish culturist is to imitate the former 

 and obviate the latter. The races should be at- 

 tached to every pond, except that in which the 

 youngest fishes are kept, and should be prepared 

 with care, as the object will be to entice the trout 

 into them, that the spawn may not be lost The 

 sides should be of two thicknesses of brick, well 

 laid in cement. We have tried earth, boards, 

 slates, and other cheap substitutes, but have 

 abandoned them all for the brick, which alone we 

 have found to be reliable. We have known the 

 water rushing through a knot-hole in a wooden 

 side plank soon wear a hole in which a pair of 

 fishes could and did readily conceal themselves. 



